Day three of Thursday’s marathon testimony in the capital murder trial of Mason Sisk, who is accused of shooting to death his father, stepmother and his three siblings on Labor Day 2019, stretched from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. with breaks for lunch and dinner.

The session opened with a discussion between the state and defense lawyers at the bench of Circuit Court Judge Chadwick Wise concerning the state’s inability to provide transcripts from retrievable messages on the deceased John Sisk’s, and Mary Sisk’s, and accused Mason Sisk’s confiscated cell phones.

The discussion was out of the jury’s presence.

The lag in getting the transcripts to defense attorneys Michael Sizemore and Shay Golden led them to request a mistrial and dismissal of the indictment on the grounds they hadn’t had access to them in time to prepare an adequate defense.

However, District Attorney Brian Jones said he had not received the transcripts back from the FBI office in Quantico, Va., so neither he nor his staff had seen them either.

“The previous counsel (for Sisk) was aware that the phones have been in the custody of the FBI and there was nothing for us to produce,” said Jones. “I called the FBI at 8 p.m. (Wednesday) and they still haven’t produced the report that would be readable by both the state and defense.”

Jones opposed the idea of a mistrial and Wise said he’d have to see what was in the reports before he could decide whether to declare a mistrial.

“I’ll have to see if there is any exculpatory evidence on the cell phone before making my decision,” said Wise.

Testimony ending the afternoon session was provided by Brandon Best, identified as an “expert witness” in the area of ballistics and firearms. Best has been employed by the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for seven years.

Best did ballistics tests on the Smith & Wesson 9mm recovered from a roadside to which the accused directed them on East Sandlin Road the morning after a day after the murders. Former Sheriff’s investigator Leslie Ramsey testified that she and Captain Lance Royals discovered the weapon.

Information from Florida resident and Sisk friend, John Matt “Gator” Patty, from whom the gun was stolen over the previous weekend, included the bill of sale and packaging that contained a serial number matching the alleged murder weapon.

Best testified that ballistic tests on a bullet recovered by deputies from the Sisk home were “inconclusive,” but six shell casings recovered from the home matched test-fired casings from the Smith & Wesson in his laboratory.

Earlier, in further morning testimony, more Limestone County Sheriff’s Department deputies’ body cam video. Most of the previous videos concerned the search for shell casings and bullet holes in walls when the projectiles exited the bodies of victims.

Sheriff’s Investigator Jay Abernathy noted any scratches or pry marks on doors that would indicate forced entry on the night of the Sept. 2, 2019, killings of the Sisk couple and their three children, Grayson, 6, Aurora, 4, and Colson, 6 months.

In a twist of irony, an investigator who was collecting and labeling evidence, found adoption documents on the kitchen counter for Mary Sisk’s official adoption of her stepson, Mason Sisk.

Also offering testimony was microbiologist Steve Campas of the Aviagen chicken breeding research plant located off Sandlin Road near the opening of Ridge Road in Elkmont. The plant’s security video of its parking lot also captured images of vehicles leaving and returning to Ridge Road on which the Sisks’ home was located.

Sheriff’s Investigator Caleb Durden viewed the video from the night of the murders for a time period beginning between when the Sisks’ vehicle returned from a Labor Day weekend outing in North Florida at approximately 9 p.m. until lawmen and emergency responders arrived on the crime scene at about 11 p.m., in response to a 911 call made by Mason Sisk 10:49 p.m., reporting the killing of his family.

During that intervening time, a dark colored SUV, similar to one owned by Mary Sisk, was seen to exit Ridge Road, turning east on Sandlin Road and returning to enter Ridge Road about 8 minutes later.

In a rare evening session Wise ordered the jury to return at 6 p.m. Thursday to continue hearing testimony until at least 8 p.m.

Readers will find Thursday’s complete testimony and Friday’s courts session in Saturday’s weekend edition.